This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 092200986, filed on Jan. 20, 2003.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a food processing apparatus, more particularly to an apparatus suitable for blending and for making ice cream.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional ice cream making machine includes a stand 1, a refrigerant container unit 2 mounted on top of the stand 1, a drive unit 3 mounted on top of the container unit 2, and a stirring unit 4 coupled to and driven by the drive unit 3. The requirements of keeping the container unit 2 at a low temperature and low-speed stirring by the stirring unit 4 are essential for ice cream making. Accordingly, the container unit 2 includes an inner barrel 201 for receiving material for making ice cream, and the drive unit 3 is operable so as to enable the stirring unit 4 to stir the material in the inner barrel 201 at a low speed in order to slowly form the ice cream.
On the other hand, a conventional blender is used to process vegetables or fruits through a blade unit thereof at a relatively high speed.
The aforesaid ice cream making machine and blender operate at two different speeds, thereby providing entirely different food processing functionalities. As such, consumers must purchase an ice cream making machine and a blender individually to have both blending and ice cream making effects.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a single apparatus suitable for blending and for making ice cream.
Accordingly, an apparatus for blending and for making ice cream of this invention comprises a drive unit, and a blending unit and a stirring unit that selectively and removably engage the drive unit.
The drive unit includes a casing, a motor mounted in the casing, a drive shaft disposed in the casing and coupled to and driven rotatably by the motor, and a high-speed output gear unit, a speed-reduction gear unit, and a low-speed output gear unit disposed in the casing. The high-speed output gear unit is coupled directly to and is driven rotatably by the drive shaft, and is formed with a first engaging hole that extends along a rotary axis. The speed-reduction gear unit is coupled to and is driven rotatably by the drive shaft. The low-speed output gear unit is coupled to and is driven rotatably by the speed-reduction gear unit, and is formed with a second engaging hole that is coaxial with the first engaging hole. The casing is formed with an insert hole that is registered with the first and second engaging holes.
The blending unit includes a blending axle having a mounting end inserted removably into the insert hole and configured to engage removably the first engaging hole in the high-speed output gear unit, and an opposite end mounted with a blade set. The blending unit is driven by the drive unit to rotate about the rotary axis at a first speed when coupled to the high-speed output gear unit.
The stirring unit includes a stirring axle having a mounting end inserted removably into the insert hole and configured to engage removably the second engaging hole in the low-speed output gear unit, and a stirring paddle set mounted on the stirring axle. The stirring unit is driven by the drive unit to rotate about the rotary axis at a second speed slower than the first speed when coupled to the low-speed output gear unit.